Growing Pumpkins

Pumpkin flirting with disaster.

This year we have pumpkins growing in various places, most prominently along the front driveway. We didn't plant the seeds directly, but last fall we did bring home some feed pumpkins for the livestock---more than they wanted to eat, so we have self-sown plants.

The vines along the driveway tend to reach toward the hot asphalt, thus jeopardizing their survival, so I've taken to noshing on any blossoms close to the edge whenever I travel past. The first pumpkin to develop actually selected a dicey location, right on the edge of the driveway, and so we have been watching it with trepidation for weeks now.

Pumpkin growing safely inside the fence.

It finally developed a full orange skin and I was beginning to wonder about harvesting it, but a UPS delivery today smashed it. Lucky livestock. This evening the chickens, goose, and goats are dining on fresh pumpkin flesh.

The more recently developed fruits have settled further back from the danger zone, and should be safe from vehicle traffic. What does one do with field pumpkins, anyway? I understand the flavor is not that of pie pumpkins, but what about pumpkin soup? Time, and a bit of research, will tell.